Sundon is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the English county of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

. There are two settlements: the one called Upper Sundon at the top of the hill is now the main

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

, and the presumably older one by the church is now a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

called Lower Sundon. Sundon Lower School is located in the village of Upper Sundon. Sundon has a village hall and a pub, the Red Lion. The manor of Sundon is listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086. The manor was held by the

de Clare The House of Clare was a prominent Anglo-Norman noble house that ruled the Earldoms of Pembroke, Hertford and Gloucester in England and Wales throughout its history, playing a prominent role in the Norman invasion of Ireland. They were desce ...

, Badlesmere and

Scrope Scrope (pronounced "scroop") is the name of an old English family of Norman origin that first came into prominence in the 14th century. The family has held the noble titles of Baron Scrope of Masham, Baron Scrope of Bolton, and for a brief time, t ...

families until the mid 16th century, when it passed to the Cheyne family. In 1716 it was sold to

William Clayton, 1st Baron Sundon William Clayton, 1st Baron Sundon (1671 – 29 April 1752) of Sundon Hall, Sundon, Bedfordshire was a British Treasury official and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1716 to 1752. Early life Clayton was baptized on 9 November 167 ...

. It later passed to the Page-Turner family. The parish church, dedicated to St Mary, is a Grade I listed building. It dates back largely to the 14th century, with some 13th century elements. The Victorian vicarage is Grade II listed, and features very fine latticed windows. Because of changes to its boundary, the parish no longer includes

Sundon Park Sundon Park is a suburb of north Luton, in the Borough of Luton, Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The area is roughly bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Leagrave Park to the south, the Midland Main Line t ...

(which is now an area of Luton) or the "Sundon Substation" of the National Grid for electricity (which lies west of the railway, near the village of

Chalton Chalton may refer to: * Chalton, Bedfordshire, England * Chalton, Hampshire, England See also * Charlton (disambiguation) {{place name disambiguation ...

References

Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire District {{Bedfordshire-geo-stub